Trains, Texas, & Stampedes: Day Two

Yeehaw! Day Two in Texas!

This really was a great day!  Everyone woke up nice and refreshed - especially Andrew after 13 hours of sleep! - and ready to see what adventures would unfold.

We packed Mike's backpack for the day and walked across the street to partake in one of the great American establishments - IHOP.  Andrew was certainly feeling the Halloween spirit!

After our yummy breakfast, we walked through a beautiful park to make our way to the zoo which was about 1 1/2 miles walking distance away from where we were staying because we had to cross a bridge over some water that separated our hotel from the park and zoo.

The Ft. Worth Zoo was a wonderful place.  The recreations of the animals' habitats were gorgeous!  We had the opportunity to see some very playful monkeys.

We caught a feeding of the penguins - which by the way, only 5 of the 17 species of penguins live in the cold!  Never knew that little fact.  I guess all the penguins that live in the cold get all the good movie deals!

We enjoyed watching the elephants (they have so many!), giraffes, hippos, zebras, and rhinos!  And really enjoyed walking into the turn of the century Texas in the Texas Wild! exhibit that featured animals of Texas right along with architecture and great BBQ!

But the most impressive exhibit by far that I have ever experienced at a zoo was the Museum of Living Art.  This Herpetarium was an impressive facility all on its own, but the reptiles, amphibians and other creatures that live there were out of this world.  Each habitat was very well lit and at just the right heights for viewing, which means it was extremely kid-friendly.  We were able to be nose to nose with a Komodo dragon, have our skin crawl while watching an enormous python and cobra, and be absolutely entranced with the swimming 15 ft. alligators.

We also took in the Halloween festivities at their "Boo at the Zoo" event, which cost $3 to participate.  It was very nicely laid out with 5 tickets for candy stations, one ticket for a pumpkin decorating station, many unique carnival type games, and a main stage where they had two "acts" running every 30 minutes.  We were able to catch both of them.  One was a "meet the animals" type of show (very fun!) and the other was just a fun costume parading and boogie-ing time.

After helping close the gates of the zoo, we started our journey back to the hotel.  This time going a way that Mike thought would be a little faster.  He had spotted a bridge on the opposite side of the park and we made our way to it.  Well, it was not exactly a bridge for humans to cross over - there was a recreational-sized train that chugged through the park and this bridge just happened to be one of the bridges for it to cross over the water.

Mike carried Andrew across.  And I'm not going to lie to you, this was NOT a good idea.  This picture looks like the railroad ties were close together - oh no!  I am glad that there was water underneath us to break our 20 foot fall...  And my heart just about beat right out of my chest when I heard a little whistle blow and looked up to see the train coming out of the tree line on the opposite side!  If we had just been a minute later...but it sure added to the adventure of the day...riiiiiight!

We successfully made the rest of the trek back to the hotel to relax a little bit before walking over to Chili's for dinner (Andrew's favorite restaurant).

We ended the day by walking over to an old car show.  Andrew was on cloud nine!  Especially when he was invited to sit in the "most awesomest, fastest car there"!

How could Day Three get any better than this!?

Trains, Texas, & Stampedes: Day One

For Andrew's 5th birthday, Mike and I put together a weekend of fun! 

Andrew has been asking over and over again when he will be able to ride a train or an airplane.  So we bought tickets to ride the train (Heartland Flyer) from downtown Oklahoma City, OK to downtown Ft. Worth, TX. 

Andrew was very excited, but a little upset that his brother was not going too... I put his anxiety to rest when I told him that Ryan wouldn't make it on a four hour train ride.  Only five year-olds were big enough to ride that far on the train!  He repeated this new found realization to several folks during the two weeks before our departure.

Boy! was it an adventure! 

It began with my parents making the trip to pick up Ryan on Thursday night.  I took Ryan to the doctor that afternoon and, sure enough, he had an ear infection and a little rattle in his lungs. (We have fought ear infections constantly and he always has a constant drip from his poor little nose.  Last December we had tubes put in his ears, and of course after one month one had already fallen out!)

For three hours I was in search of a medication that was prescribed before I gave up and called Mike to tag him  for back-up searching so I could tap out to do some last minute laundry and packing (nothing like it!).  Wouldn't you know it would be his good fortune that the first pharmacy he called would have it!  Seriously.  (Might I stress I went to three pharmacies and spent three hours searching...)  Ryan was packed up and ready to spend the weekend with Grandma and Papa.  He was ready to go too!

The next morning, Mike, Andrew and I head to the train station.  It is amazing to see some of the history and beautiful architecture that you miss when you live so close to something that you don't take the time to really slow down and look around.  The train station was amazing!

I had purchased our tickets several weeks ahead of time, and it was a good thing that I did.  The train was completely full and they were turning people away!  I had no idea this form of travel was so popular.  And now I know why!  Everyone is SO friendly when you ride on a train together.  I don't know if it is the feeling of being transported back into time or the laid back atmosphere that I don't feel you find on an airplane.  We had some great conversations with passengers and the conductors alike (as Andrew loving called everyone with the official uniform on).  Just some good ole' fashioned camaraderie on the rails.

I packed Andrew's tag reader and books, games, mini-puzzles (from Dollar Tree or the dollar bins at Target), and snacks.  There was a dining car - the lady in charge of it was a hoot!  She would come over the intercom every once in a while and tell all the kids to keep their eyes peeled for hawks and dinosaurs!  I have never seen Andrew so focused staring out the windows!  I will have to say that I was a tab bit disappointed with the dining car.  I had this grand image of the dining car from the movie White Christmas in mind.  A long bar and cozy booth-style seating... it was neither of those, but still very cool and we didn't frequent it on a couple of occasions.

The chairs and personal space that you have on the train is unbelievable.  Mike kept commenting on the glorious chairs. They really were impress, along with ALL the room you have.

Once we made it to Ft. Worth, we set out to find something to eat and to figure out our transportation needs to travel to our hotel.  We ate some yummy sandwiches in a small cafe downtown on 9th and Houston (I can't remember the name, but their turkey club was to die for!) 

It was just a little noisy!

After about 30 minutes of looking at maps on our phones and a particular bus map, we decided to head back to the train station that also served as the main bus terminal too.  Once we reached the train station again, it was not too hard to figure out we needed to catch Route 7 to find our hotel.  The hotel we stayed out was a little over 3 miles away from downtown Ft. Worth.  It was less than a 10 minute drive on the bus.  Perfect!

There is something very liberating about not having a car and only having your legs and others to rely on!  It was also a great bonding experience for all of us. 

Our hotel was right across the street from a great shopping center with stores like Williams-Sonoma, The Container Store, and, my all time favorite!, Anthropologie.  Let's just say I got some Christmas shopping out of the way.  And since we were riding the train without luggage restrictions, I could shop away... oh wait! Mike was with me...scratch that!

We ended up putting Andrew to bed just after 7pm.  Poor guy was tuckered out from staying up a little later than normal the two nights before and then waking up on Friday morning at 5:30am to get ready for the train ride.  He was snoring and talking in his sleep by 7:23!  Mike went out for a little stroll and I was asleep by 8:57!

The day was a perfect start to the weekend that followed!

The 5 Marvelous Wonder Years

Today is your day, Andrew!

The past five years have sprinted by in a blur. 

You are just as charming and interested in life as you were when you were an itty-bitty 9 lbs 1 oz ball of love when God blessed us with you that wonderful night five years ago.  You were born now - 9:50pm - on that cold October night. 

Everyone was so excited to meet you.  The nursing staff had to continually scold those family members and friends who were waiting by the door outside the hospital room.  We were all SO excited to welcome you into our loving family.

You were such a precious baby boy.  You were just a perfect little guy.  You hardly cried unless you were hungry - and you had a healthy appetite from the very beginning! 

At 9 weeks old you were sleeping through the night from 7:30pm to 7:30am.  You loved to eat and sleep so much that we joked about you being like Garfield (Grandpa McKinley's favorite cartoon character)!  You have always had a very predictable schedule.  And you still get a little out of sorts if you don't keep to the routine.

You also played the role of Jesus at just a ripe age of 2 months.  And you did beautifully!  Right before the finale of the choir's Christmas cantata, I handed you to Joseph who in turn handed me the baby doll they had been using.  He turned and walked back to the middle of the stage and at just the right moment raised you up in the air (Simba from Lion King style).  You kicked and looked out towards the audience and everyone gasped with surprise!  You did the exact same cue a second time too!

You have always kept us smiling and on our toes.  You have an easy, go-lucky sense of humor.  And, boy, do you love to laugh.  That's okay with me, because I love to laugh too!  The picture of you in the golf bag made headlines at the Ping National Sales Meeting.  Your picture was shown after the President said that they had been having weird messages left about the items they were shipping with their golf bags.  After beginning what everyone thought was some sort of reprimand, he throws this picture up on the big screen for hundreds of reps to see.  What a celebrity! 

You began walking at 10 months-old, and have never stopped running since!  You were also eating whole apples with a full set of teeth by then too!

At two you were completely in love with finding out about the world around you, and you didn't have any reservations to wonder (or race) off to explore.  I would have to chase after you because you never would look back.  You just knew I would be following you (in a dead sprint!).

As a three year-old you were just as curious, and your independence to do things on your own was more than noticed!  You loved the idea of becoming a big brother - and were determined you were going to have a sister.  Your vocabulary was wonderful for your age.  You were communicating clearly without any trouble in understanding what you were saying.  You have always aligned yourself with an older group of children.

At four years-old, you were full of adventure, excitement and love for your family.  You were still figuring out your role as an older brother, but doing so beautifully.  You truly love the world around you and the people God has placed in it for you to meet and know.

I can't wait to see what life has in store for you this year!  You bring so much to Mommy, Daddy and Ryan's life every day.  Thank you for all the belly laughs, giggles, endless curiosity, gentle kindness and an enduring love for our Heavenly Father and Jesus.  Chocolate Milk Cheers to Five, Andrew!  We love you!!!